Pain management in the ED has become a balancing act. EPs must continually balance adequate pain management with the risks of opioids prescribing. As providers reach into their pain management toolbox it is always nice to have as many options as possible because one size does not fit all. Specifically for the management of acute renal colic, IV preservative-free (cardiac) lidocaine has been gaining popularity as a potential alternative when opioids are unable to get job done or are contraindicated due to co-morbidities or a history of addiction. Is it safe? Does it work?

As part of the ALiEM Faculty Incubator Professional Development Program, Drs. Megan Boysen-Osborn (Program Director at University of California-Irvine), Dara Kass (Editor-in-Chief FeminEM), and Andrew King (Assistant Program Director at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center) participated in a Google Hangout where they provided perspectives and expert advice on program evaluation. Their perspectives and wisdom are summarized below.

Dr. Noah Kaufman is an emergency physician from Fort Collins, CO, who you may have spotted on a recent TV episode of American Ninja Warrior. We could not have thought of a better exemplar guest to share some insights on this Healthy in EM series. Spoiler alert: Staying active, living the adventure, and laughing as much as possible are a few key secrets on how Dr. Kaufman keeps well. Here is how he stays healthy in EM!(more…)

Our fourth case of season 5,The Case of the Technologically-Challenged Academic, presented the scenario of a budding clinician-scientist who is encouraged to develop a social media and online presence to highlight and disseminate his research achievements. His barrier, however, is his perceived lack of knowledge and technical skills for the growing online FOAM and social media movement.

The MEdIC team (Drs. Tamara McColl, Teresa Chan, Sarah Luckett-Gatopoulos, Eve Purdy, John Eicken, Alkarim Velji, and Brent Thoma), hosted an online discussion around the case over the last 2 weeks with insights from the ALiEM community. We are proud to present to you the curated commentary and our expert opinions. Thank-you to all participants for contributing to the very rich discussions surrounding this case!

Pediatric patients are not just little adults. Placing peripheral IVs in young patients can be challenging and comes with its own set of challenges. Presented are some basic and advanced tips to maximize success in establishing peripheral IV access in pediatric patients using ultrasonography.(more…)

Welcome to another ultrasound-based case, part of the “Ultrasound For The Win!” (#US4TW) Case Series. In this series, we focus on a real clinical case where point-of-care ultrasound changed the management or aided in the diagnosis. In this case, a 64-year-old man presents with acute onset scrotal pain and fever.(more…)